Sodium valproate and tardive dyskinesia

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is a movement disorder associated with long-term antipsychotic use.
• Existing treatments for TD have limited efficacy and significant side effects.
• Sodium valproate is an anticonvulsant with potential mood-stabilizing and anti-movement properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of sodium valproate in treating tardive dyskinesia in patients with schizophrenia.
• To determine if adjunctive sodium valproate can reduce the severity of TD symptoms.

Main Methods:

• A one-month, open-label study involving 25 schizophrenic patients diagnosed with tardive dyskinesia.
• Patients received a daily dose of 600 mg of sodium valproate in addition to their existing neuroleptic medication.
• Symptom severity was assessed by a panel of nine raters who reviewed video recordings taken before and after the treatment period.

Main Results:

• No significant improvement in tardive dyskinesia signs was observed after one month of treatment.
• The panel of raters did not detect any reduction in the severity of involuntary movements.
• Adjunctive sodium valproate at 600 mg/day did not demonstrate therapeutic benefit for TD in this patient group.

Conclusions:

• Sodium valproate, at a dose of 600 mg daily, is not effective in treating tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenic patients.
• Further research with different dosages or in different patient populations may be warranted.
• This study suggests that sodium valproate is not a viable treatment option for tardive dyskinesia.